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Bestowed since 1997, the Alcoa UBC Supplier Quality Awards spotlight the importance of high quality UBCs in the remelting process and in eliminating potential hazards for employees.

According to Bryan Steverson, chairman of the Alcoa Rigid Packaging UBC quality committee, consistency is key. "These firms treat every load of UBCs as critical. They are committed to providing clean, dry UBCs that are free of moisture, dirt, glass, plastic and other materials," he said. "They are the "best of the best" of the nearly 2,000 companies who ship UBCs to Alcoa, and we salute their hard work and focus," Steverson said.

The elimination of contaminants from UBC shipments has a direct impact on the quality and cost of recycled aluminum cans as well as the safety of employees involved in the recycling process.

Alcoa Rigid Packaging produces aluminum sheet for the beverage and food can industries and leads Alcoa's aluminum can recycling activities. Alcoa is one of the nation's largest consumers of UBCs.